New international code covers ethics of on-line advertising
Paris, 19 April 1998 - ICC announced voluntary guidelines on interactive marketing and advertising that cover a range of ethical issues, including protection of users' personal data, messages directed at children, and the varied sensitivities of global audiences.
As the world business organization, ICC is the foremost developer of international self-regulatory codes of conduct for advertising and marketing practice.
The ICC Revised Guidelines on Advertising and Marketing on the Internet are designed to promote worldwide consumer confidence in on-line marketing and advertising, while minimizing the need for governments to introduce restrictive legislation. The on-line advertising guidelines update an earlier version already in use.
John Manfredi, Chairman of the ICC Commission on Marketing, Advertising and Distribution which drafted the guidelines, said: "If business successfully adheres to this set of guidelines for ethical practices on the Internet, we may well preclude the imposition of restrictive bureaucratic legislation at the national, regional and global levels. Failure to do so will obviously foster the reverse consequence." Mr. Manfredi is also the executive vice president with Nabisco, Inc.
ICC Secretary General Maria Livanos Cattau
i said: "ICC advertising guidelines are used by professional advertising associations all over the world as the basis for national codes of conduct. We expect those organizations to incorporate the main provisions of the new guidelines in their codes covering on-line advertising."
The ICC guidelines urge marketers to have an open and transparent on-line presence by disclosing their identity clearly when posting a message, so that users can contact them without difficulty. Marketers should alert users to any access costs additional to basic telecommunications rates, and allow them a reasonable amount of time to disconnect from the service without incurring the extra charge.
A guideline entitled "Users' rights" states that advertisers and marketers should disclose the reason for collecting personal information on users, and confine their use of the information to their stated purpose. The guidelines also state that marketers should take reasonable precautions to safeguard the security of their data files.
As a further principle to protect consumers, the ICC guidelines note that users should have the right and the opportunity to refuse transfer of their personal data to other advertisers and marketers, except when required by authority of law. Advertisers are also encouraged to clearly post their privacy policy statements on their on-line site. Unsolicited commercial messages should not be sent to those users who request not to receive them.
The principles also require marketers to respect on-line public groups by posting messages only on commercial sites, those with a related theme, or those which have given implicit or explicit permission to do so.
In view of the global reach of the electronic medium, the ICC guidelines stipulate that on-line advertising directed at children should not be exploitative or harmful. Marketers are urged to ensure that parental consent is given before children provide information on-line, and to provide information to parents on ways to protect children's on-line privacy.
Finally, the guidelines caution marketers to consider the sensitivities of global audiences by ensuring that their messages are not perceived as pornographic, violent, racist, sexist or otherwise offensive.
The ICC guidelines require that on-line advertising and marketing be conducted in accordance with the laws of the country from which the message originates. ICC points out, however, that there is currently no international unanimity on legal jurisdiction, and that certain countries may claim jurisdiction over messages posted on-line from abroad.
The ICC on-line advertising guidelines are consistent with ICC's long-standing International Code of Advertising Practice and other related codes.
ICC has thousands of member companies and business associations in more than 130 countries. It is the only representative body that speaks with authority on behalf of business enterprises from all sectors in every part of the world. It promotes an open international trade and investment system and the market economy worldwide.
ICC Commission on Advertising, Marketing and Distribution
ICC Revised Guidelines on Advertising and Marketing on the Internet